Helped Take My Small Company to the Next Level
Updated February 28, 2024
Helped Take My Small Company to the Next Level
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Standard
Overall Satisfaction with BigCommerce
I switched to BigCommerce awhile ago now after attempting to use some other shopping cart sites along with trying to run my own webstore software with not the best results.
One of the things I like about BigCommerce was the fact they have fantastic customer service and were able to walk me through making changes to my domain name and other settings I was not sure on. They also make it really easy to build your site and list products which has made for a nice looking website, but has made the shopping on my site a lot easier for customers which has also helped increase sales which has made a huge difference!
One of the things I like about BigCommerce was the fact they have fantastic customer service and were able to walk me through making changes to my domain name and other settings I was not sure on. They also make it really easy to build your site and list products which has made for a nice looking website, but has made the shopping on my site a lot easier for customers which has also helped increase sales which has made a huge difference!
- The customer support really is fantastic. Even with newbie questions I asked, they were quick to reply with the information I asked for, including helpful links which really made the difference in switching over and understanding what I needed to do.
- I am really thrilled with the interface and how easy it is to learn to use. From being really easy to create new pages, edit themes, and add new products, the interface takes very little time to learn. The theme editor is amazing with its WYSIWYG-style interface--I was able to create eye-catching pages in no time.
- The plug-ins you can add to your site are really handy, including shipping and payment processors like Stripe, which has just in itself helped increase my sales over using PayPal only.
- Another nice feature is the security for your site, BigCommerce is always updating things and trying to make your webstore as safe for you and your customers as possible.
- So far I have been really pleased with all aspects of BigCommerce and have not run into any problems or things I would do differently. Something small but something I can think of is in the theme editor. It would be nice to be able to add more items to a page, as I kept finding out I was running out of space when creating pages with lots of graphics/links.
- I have been able to make a website that is easier for my customers to find products on and easier for them to order on.
- Being able to add Stripe as a payment processor has doubled my sales compared to just selling via Paypal.
- Having the ability now to sell gift certificates automatically has helped with sales also. It was a easy feature to turn on and set up.
Less than $20,000
This is something that I have not yet played with, but something I plan to learn more about and see about exploring more. The ability to do these kinds of things opens so many more options, which is rather exciting, but also unknown areas for myself right now. BigCommerce is really good about supplying help files/videos and of course their customer support is great.
I looked at these companies and some others to see what they offered and for how much. After watching lots of videos and reading lots of pages, I started to narrow down the list. I was still unsure so took a chance and took the free trial with BigCommerce; right away I was thrilled to find how easy it was to set up, and before long I had the basic structure for my site in place. One of the things I found with many other sites/softwares was how confusing things would get for a newbie. I also really love the theme editor with BigCommerce as it makes creating eye catching pages super easy, compared to having to play with CSS and other rather confusing things.
Do you think BigCommerce delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with BigCommerce's feature set?
Yes
Did BigCommerce live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of BigCommerce go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy BigCommerce again?
Yes
BigCommerce Feature Ratings
Using BigCommerce
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Creating Product Pages
- Uploading Images and making Gallery's
- Creating and Editing Themes for your webstores needs
- Easily keeping track of Orders and Customers Information
- I can not think of anything at this moment per say as I have been happy with really everything so far, and for what I have done with my site, I have not found anything all that cumbersome, maybe more of a learning curve on my side vs something they did wrong.
Yes - I have the app on my iPhone and love it!
It is really handy when I am out and about to be able to see if there was any incoming orders along with check on order status, messages from customers and other options.
The app is really easy to use and offers options that really help with running a business online.
It is really handy when I am out and about to be able to see if there was any incoming orders along with check on order status, messages from customers and other options.
The app is really easy to use and offers options that really help with running a business online.
Using BigCommerce
2 - Being that we are a small home based company, most times it is me working on the website from doing the actual product pages to checking on new orders/messaging customers etc. My wife also helps with these duty's and with BigCommerce the way its setup she is able to do what is needed without any problems also.
2 - I feel that if you have a fairly basic knowledge of how a webstore works and how sales and payments you should have enough to get started, and if your not sure Support is amazing. Some other skills that are very useful is working with graphics software to create the graphics needed for your site, along with people who can create product pages with the information and pictures your customers need to make a proper decision on buying from you.
- Easy to use Webstore
- Being able to reach out to customers around the world, not just local.
- Webstore is something I can create and maintain myself
- For myself I really like the idea I can list products as Pre-Sales as my items are made to order. This way my customers KNOW there will be a lead time on their order without me needing to message every customer to check if that is okay.
- Its helped me create a website on top of my Webstore where I can link/supply information that is related to products I sell, this has helped increase traffic to my site, thus increasing sales.
- I plan to expand into other items related to my current items, and know creating the Categories and product pages will not be a crazy hard thing to do, so this is very reassuring.
- I would like to add a digital download section to my site eventually and was really happy to see all the options and settings for digital sales already there for you in the console.
Evaluating BigCommerce and Competitors
Yes - It replaced two things actually. My not so great webstore I used to run along with a separate website. Now I have everything in one site making it easier for my customers to find what they need but also having everything all in one place in general is rather nice.
I am VERY happy to be with BigCommerce compared to the way I was doing things as my webstore was not very good and I struggled to keep it going and never had any time to work on my website.
But now having everything in once place I can easily edit, I really am happy about things compared to the way they were.
I am VERY happy to be with BigCommerce compared to the way I was doing things as my webstore was not very good and I struggled to keep it going and never had any time to work on my website.
But now having everything in once place I can easily edit, I really am happy about things compared to the way they were.
- Scalability
- Ease of Use
Honestly for myself the biggest reason was the fact I could not only create a proper webstore/Website with them pretty easily, but It helps me keep track of orders/customers etc. My old webstore was not very good and I am sure I lost customers because of it, so with BigCommerce its fantastic I can build things better.
I think the only thing I would have done different when looking for a place to host my webstore was to ask friends who already are running company's where they were using and why vs me looking at all the sites and doing a trial if they offered it, to see if it was right for me.
I think I would have asked them and then made my list shorter to save time and energy looking all over.
I think I would have asked them and then made my list shorter to save time and energy looking all over.
BigCommerce Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Yes - I started with a trial membership, then subscribed and started to create the new Webstore/Website before making any domain level changes.
I gathered all the information I needed for the change thanks to Support and when the website was ready to go, I made the changes to the domain to move it over to BigCommerce. So it was a slow progress into the new Webstore but being able to do it in phases helped make it not seem so overwhelming.
I gathered all the information I needed for the change thanks to Support and when the website was ready to go, I made the changes to the domain to move it over to BigCommerce. So it was a slow progress into the new Webstore but being able to do it in phases helped make it not seem so overwhelming.
Change management was minimal - There really was no real Change Management on our side of things being such a small company and it really only being myself for the most part things did not change much other than small changes needed during the changeover. Biggest change I can think of is just the learning curve to BigCommerce and its interfaces and such, but that really is not that bad either.
- Knowing what to change in the Domain DNS Server settings and doing it correctly so everything connects right.
- Just the learning curve to using BigCommerce dashboard and learning what terms mean what.
BigCommerce Training
- No Training
I have some knowledge of websites and webstores from years of playing with them, so was lucky in having that knowledge going into things.
I found that the Documents and FAQ pages available really do help and doing some searching you can find videos on how to actually implement different options and settings. If you are pretty new to all this, it might be worth checking into what training is available and if it suites you needs/price range.
I found that the Documents and FAQ pages available really do help and doing some searching you can find videos on how to actually implement different options and settings. If you are pretty new to all this, it might be worth checking into what training is available and if it suites you needs/price range.
Configuring BigCommerce
I would suggest looking at all the pages and their options before making any changes to things. See if you can see how things flow and what information you need to make those changes.
I have a notebook that I kept with me when doing the site, and wrote down settings before making those changes as I was learning so in case I made a mistake I could refer to the book and change that setting back hopefully fixing any possible issues. Take your time and do not rush things you are not sure about would be my biggest suggestion.
I have a notebook that I kept with me when doing the site, and wrote down settings before making those changes as I was learning so in case I made a mistake I could refer to the book and change that setting back hopefully fixing any possible issues. Take your time and do not rush things you are not sure about would be my biggest suggestion.
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
I have not really done anything too special with my webstore as of yet, as I have found most of the options I need are already there and easy to use with no changes at all. I am not sure what changes I could make in things to be honest so stay away from anything too crazy when it comes to code and such.
BigCommerce Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
No I did not purchase it, as it was not something I really needed for my small company/small webstore as I did not think I needed that, and honestly the messages I have had with support have always been replied to fast and with great detail including links to help articles and other helpful videos and info. So for my needs the support system that is there is perfect.
When I was first moving my domain over to BigCommerce I was not sure what changes I needed to do to DNS servers and such for the domain and was very scared of messing everything up. What made it complicated was I am keeping my current email servers but wanted to move the actual website to them.
Support was amazing with helpful information, links to documents and videos that would help me make those changes.
Things went really well thanks to all the info they provided which helped reduce my stress levels during this important changeover to BigCommerce.
Support was amazing with helpful information, links to documents and videos that would help me make those changes.
Things went really well thanks to all the info they provided which helped reduce my stress levels during this important changeover to BigCommerce.